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Wednesday, May 23, 2007

While this is covered in the comments under my 'random thoughts' post, I thought it important enough to move it to it's own post...

The House approved the Guam World War II Loyalty Recognition Act 288-133. A link to the bill is here. The purpose of the bill is as follows:

SEC. 2. PURPOSES.The purposes of this Act are to—(1) acknowledge the suffering of the residents of Guam as a result of the occupation of Guam in World War II by Imperial Japanese military forces;(2) acknowledge the steadfast loyalty to the United States of the residents of Guam as a result of the occupation of Guam in World War II by Imperial Japanese military forces;(3) compensate surviving relatives for the deaths of residents of Guam as a result of the occupation of Guam in World War II by Imperial Japanese military forces;(4) compensate persons who themselves suffered personal injury (including rape and malnutrition), forced labor, forced march, or internment as a result of the occupation of Guam in World War II by Imperial Japanese military forces; and(5) establish a trust fund to sponsor research and educational activities regarding the wartime occupation and liberation of Guam, scholarships, medical facilities, and other benefits for the people of Guam.

If you'd like to know who voted for/against this bill, you can check here.

Of course, it comes as no surprise that our congresswoman, Marcy Kaptur, voted to support this bill. What may surprise people is that Paul Gillmor also voted in favor. Other Ohio representatives who voted yes are: Stephanie Jones, Dennis Kucinich, Tim Ryan, Zachary Space, Betty Sutton, and Charles Wilson.

6 comments:

You're right Maggie. I don't know why we, American Taxpayers 50 years removed, would be obligated to pay for the atrocities committed by another government. Moreover, the very fact that we liberated and defended Guam from the Japanese should have been reparations enough.

For those who may not know, Guam was a part of America prior to the war (has been about as long as Hawaii). If this happened in Hawaii or Idaho, you can be certain that there would be a government trust set up to go over the atrocities that occured. September 11th was caused by foreign attackers, yet we set up trust funds for that - would anyone argue against that? If so, they are not American and are idiots.

For more information: http://www.thewarguam.com/site/war_no_flash_occupation.html

On July 12, 1944, the beloved priest Father Jesus Duenas and his nephew Edwardo Duenas were beheaded for refusing to reveal information about Tweed (a radioman helping the war effort). Father Duenas was one of only two Chamorro priests who had been allowed to remain on Guam when the Japanese took over. Throughout Occupation he openly defied them, once even humming "God Bless America" during a propaganda meeting. Like many other Chamorros, Father Duenas' loyalty to America cost him his life.

Actually, the issue isn't the status of Guam or the Japanese victims, it's the fact that the U.S. is not responsible for what the Japanese did. We didn't pay reparations to any other victim of the Japanese attacks, including other U.S. citizens.

And the U.S. had no right to take tax dollars and pay them to the families of those lost in the Sept. 11th terrorist attacks, either.

It's fine if individuals choose to do so, but wrong when the government spends tax dollars in such endeavors.

If Japanese victims in Guam want reparations - get them from the Japanese government - they're the ones responsible for the harm.